Reaper
by Lois Joanne Lane
Summary: Alyse is a girl who lost her mother and the love of her life and now she's slowly losing herself.


**Reaper**

**Prologue**

Once I leave this house…I am never looking back…I'm gone and I won't come back for anything…everything I ever loved is falling apart and I have no reason left to stay…will I miss the love of my life…yes I will with every fiber of my being and all my heart…but I have to go without him and it's going to kill me…maybe I am the reaper in all her crowning glory…maybe I do have the ability to kill in a metaphorical sense. So here I go my beginning, the reaper.

**Chapter 1: Ambrosianus**

With the entering of Alyse (the reaper) into the town of Ambrosianus, a new dynamic was coming into play. With her mother dead and the love of her life left behind, corruption of her soul and heart began, and her wrath was about to be sprung upon the earth, starting with this town. Alexandrus, Canicus, Damia, and Apollo were among the first to meet her. At first glance she seemed peaceful, at ease, and all around okay, if only Damia and Canicus knew what was really going on within her. Alexandrus went further in depth than just basic appearance, he had the ability to really know what Alyse was thinking as a result of telepathy; he could sense the rage, hate, and wrath corrupting her. Her pain he understood as far as the death of her mother Isabelle went, but what he didn't understand or realize was that she was turning into death itself. She was about to challenge all in this town, because death cannot be killed, since it ultimately is inevitable.

You could hear the pain within if you listened closely; the tears were there, she just wouldn't allow them to fall down her face. She was given one of life's hardest challenges and she wasn't ready to face it, all she knew was it wasn't meant to be. How could he take Isabelle from her, she needed her still. With hate consuming her she tended to not believe in God much anymore, all she knew now was what it meant to be alone and with that she faced Alexandrus, Canicus, Damia, and Apollo with a fake smile and hidden hatred within. Nothing and no one was left to comfort her. The love she once had was slowly fading away and there wasn't room for a new love or friend to be found. Death built within her daily and only Alexandrus could tell something wasn't right. No one knew why she came to Ambrosianus; no one seemed to care, after all what could a silly young lady do to hurt their city.

Nothing changed in her appearance for some time, although the turmoil within was taking its toll. "Why did you come here and what are your intentions," asked Alexandrus, despite knowing the answer to half the question already. She didn't seem to want to answer him so she made up a lie, "I came on vacation seeing as I knew what the name of the city meant I wanted to know more about it," she replied, but Alexandrus couldn't leave it like that. So he continued on, "Ambrosianus isn't really a vacation spot and nobody knows what the name means or that it even exists, unless you're not normal, only then would the city reveal itself and its meaning to you." She realized he was trying for a black and white story, but she wasn't going to give it to him, no matter how many questions he asked.

**Chapter 2: Inner Circle**

Canicus, Apollo, and Damia all seemed to be clueless for the moment, but for some reason they felt the urge to invite her in to their group, wanting so badly to show her their abilities. Despite their persistence Alexandrus still mistrusted her and was able to keep the inner circle at bay.

**The Common Loss**

As she continued on her journey through the city, she came upon an old inn, "The Artemis Inn" where she decided she would lodge. The inn taker Countess looked upon her with sheer distaste but Alyse was oblivious to the lady's feelings.

As she sat in her room she fought with the ghost of her mother screaming, "How could you leave me and how am I supposed to make it without you? Do you know how much I hate you for leaving?" From a far Alex could hear her pleading, "please come back, I'll do anything, I need you." he now knew what drove her here, it was the loss of her mother, but he wasn't going to release any of that information. He knew what it was like to lose a parent; he had lost his a few years back, in a fire. It was set by someone he considered to be a friend only he blamed himself because even with all his abilities he couldn't save them.

He used to ask how could I let this happen, he lost himself and everything he knew to be real and Alyse was no exception to these feelings. But her feelings were leading to something darker, something no one would see coming, death, darkness, and destruction.

**Chapter 6: Confession**

She fell in love with Alexandrus, something she never expected how she could have gone from this hate to gradual feelings for another person, she would never know. The hate that once consumed her was replaced by love; a love that couldn't be defined, all she knew was she needed him, she had to have him, and she couldn't live without him. All these feelings they were too overwhelming, so "should I walk?" rang into her mind. Like with everything else in her life she ran when someone got to close; this was no exception, the only difference was now she could kill him with her abilities or he could kill her. But would that make her feel better or worse, there was only one way she would find out.

I have so much to say to you I just don't know where to begin, I love you and I hate you. You make me happy and you make me sad, you drive me crazy but you keep me sane, and you make me weak but you make me strong. So how can you make me feel all these things at once and why more than anything why do you do this to me?

Alexandrus I could kill you with the touch of my hand and bring you back again. I could control you forever, but none of this would bring me joy, it would make me miserable in fact. How did you put this effect on me? Alex please just say something, anything, just don't leave me to my thoughts and don't reject me. I can't stand another rejection; "I love you Alex! I would do anything to take everything I've done back, but I can't." He just stood there and looked upon her with confusion and despair.

In the common room at the inn the Countess heard everything that was said, she heard about The Battle of Louise and the Athenian War. All that was once rumors, had now become truth, all that had made sense to her, could now be proven, and to top it off the girl who waged it all was staying in the very inn she owned and now she'd fallen in love. She'd fallen for the, "Protector of Man – Alexandrus," none the less. How could this all be, how could she have not known.

"Alyse I knew. You had said all of this many years ago and you've repeated it several times over the years. I loved you then and I love you still, but so much has happened; the question is where we go from here. No one will understand and no one will bother to try. You waged wars with the wrong people and you fought battles that shouldn't have been fought. You killed people who had their whole lives to live just because you could; you brought pain and suffering to a city that did nothing but simply welcome you in. So where do we go from here? I don't think there's a possibility of making this work, trust me I would've tried anything. I waited years for you to change, I waited years to hear you say, "I love you Alex!" but you didn't until it was too late." And so he left the room with a heavy heart that was too great to bear and she was left to shed her tears.

So many years had passed since she had felt this way and now her feelings were out. Alexandrus knew but so did the Countess. The question was how much damage had she really done just now when she revealed her true feelings and confessed to what she'd done.

**Over the Years**

For years she'd been the Reaper; that was all she knew. She discovered the ability to kill with a single touch of the hand, she was able to resurrect the dead and bend them to her will, but worst of all she'd learned to accept hate and loneliness. Much had happened since her mother's death which was over thirteen years ago, and she even made the decision to resurrect Isabelle at one point in her life, only to find that it wasn't really her mom it was just a soulless clone. Despite it all she had conquered the world and gained little solace in return; death had become her and she became death.

They shared in the glory of their destruction, despair, darkness, and so much more, but eventually human emotions or should I say love had caught up with her once again.

© Latara Zepeda 2010


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